It’s obvious that after the 2012 elections the GOP is looking to fix what is broken and it appears they are saying the right things and recognizing there is a problem. Since I consider myself a Conservative, the GOP is the party I would rather see in power and I hope they can get this ship turned in the right direction so we can then get the country turned in the “right” direction (pun intended).

While the GOP is going through this process, I hope they take the time to listen to Conservative youths and I found a recent NPR article that should be required reading for any GOP leader. In this article, 14 members of The Ohio State University College Republicans watched the SOTU and gave their feedback to an NPR reporter. Here are just a few of their comments/suggestions.

Younger Leaders

“There was also a strong sense in the room that the Republican Party can revive itself by attracting new, youthful leadership. They say that’s what Democrats did with Barack Obama.”

“Immediately after listening to the response, the talk turned to the senator’s potential.”

“He’s definitely sending the party in the right direction,” college senior Shanae Brown said.”

“Others stressed the depth of the GOP bench when it comes to new, young leaders.”

Having John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell be the voice of the GOP is not doing us any favors and we need more of Rubio, Paul Ryan, Bobby Jindal, Rand Paul and Tim Scott.

Messaging

“The area where these Republicans showed the most frustration with the party is in messaging.”

“We don’t know how to brand our message and we are getting outworked on that, and I think that’s our major issue,” Lucas Denney, 21, said.”

“Some of the students say that is especially true when it comes to social media, a critical tool for reaching young voters.”

“That was the biggest problem. … I would go on Twitter and I would see Obama promoted. I would go on YouTube, there’s an Obama ad. I would go on Pandora and there’s an Obama ad,” Dan Morgano said, adding “[I] never heard anything from Romney when I was online.”

Sending out information via the US postal service or robo-calling is not going to win elections in the future. The GOP needs to embrace social media and view it as a critical piece of its marketing machine. Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are not fads that will be going away anytime soon so if the GOP chooses to dabble in this media instead of using it as part of their primary messaging then we’ll continue to lose elections.

The Coming Wave of GOP Members

“There is another big thing these college Republicans seem to be banking on when it comes to the GOP and their generation: When they do get out of school and get jobs and mortgages, taxes and government spending will suddenly become greater worries.”

“They say that’s when the Republicans will have a chance at winning over a generation that has been very elusive for the party.”

Over the coming years, a large population of college graduates will enter the workforce, start families and realize that they are in serious trouble financially. They will be looking for a way to get out of this mess and Conservatives have a method to do just that. We need to be there for them so we can communicate the fiscally Conservative message and win them over to our side. Team Obama’s message is the only one getting to them now but eventually Math will win in the end and thinking people (not the O-bot sheeple) will grow weary of that message when they are faced with the harsh realities of making ends meet and saving for the future. In the absence of communications from the GOP, people will develop their own Worldview based on messaging from the State Run Stream Media and we can’t let that happen.

Same Sex Marriage

“…Sam Zeidema, 20, who calls himself “a real conservative.” On social issues, though, he is out of sync with some of the GOP’s positions, such as its stance against same-sex marriage.”

“Zeidema, chairman of the College Republicans group, says he doesn’t feel strongly about the issue either way — and so he is not going to campaign for or against it.”

“I am not one that’s going to go out and advocate for or against the issue because I hear both sides. I understand both sides, and, I guess, it’s just hard because it doesn’t affect me personally,” he said.”

We had a classic example of how out of touch the GOP is with regard to younger people when the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) recently announced they are banning GOProud (an organization of gay Conservatives) from this year’s event. Stupid!

I’m a big tent guy when it comes to the GOP and feel we need to welcome EVERY person who believes in fiscally Conservative principles if we have any hope of rescuing the US from its path to Socialism. I’ve made it clear before that I am totally against making legalized same sex unions a Maginot Line for the Republican Party. If two consenting adults are interested in fighting for fiscally conservative principles then I could care less what they do in their bedroom. If you feel that homosexuality is a sin and it should be labeled as such then there is a place for that conversation – It’s called Church.

Republicans lost big in 2012 because of messaging and our position on social issues. We can continue to try and legislate morality or we can focus on the common ground that will unite our party and win elections. Nominating and voting for candidates that must pass some litmus test on social issues only ensures Leftists will continue to win elections. There are areas where we should fight for social issues that are near and dear to our hearts – which include Same Sex Marriage, Abortion, Birth Control, Drugs, Alcohol, etc. – and we should continue to do that (even more than we’ve been doing!) but right now the political arena isn’t the place for those fights.

I agree we need to change the culture in the US and I weep because so many people in this country endorse the killing of babies every day through legal Abortion. I want to change that and I will fight to change that but it will require a battle that will take place over years, maybe even decades, and that battle will be even harder to fight if we don’t start electing Conservatives and fix our fiscal and economic problems. Losing more elections will not move the US culture closer to Conservative principles!

The relationship between young and old Conservatives can be a symbiotic one – New Conservative college graduates can learn much from their GOP elders and the GOP leaders would be wise to listen to the counsel of the youth. If we work together we can start winning elections again.